Dustin hurts back in fall

AUGUSTA (AFP) – World number one Dustin Johnson was in doubt for the Masters after injuring his lower back Wednesday in a “serious’’ fall on the eve of the year’s first men’s major golf championship.

The 32-year-old American star landed “very hard’’ after a fall down stairs at his rented house in Augusta, his agent said, but still hopes to be fit enough to tee off in Thursday’s first round.

Before the announcement sent shock waves through Augusta National Golf Club, Johnson was the oddsmakers favorite to collect the champion’s green jacket after winning his past three starts.

“At roughly 3 pm today, Dustin took a serious fall on a staircase in his Augusta rental home,’’ his agent, David Winkle, said in a statement. “He landed very hard on his lower back and is now resting, although quite uncomfortably.